Ottawa is the capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest city. It
is located in the Ottawa Valley on the eastern edge of the province of Ontario,
right at the border with Quebec, about 400 km (250 miles) east of Toronto
and 190 km (120 miles) west of Montreal. It is a city on the banks of the
Ottawa River, a major waterway that forms the border between the two provinces.
Unlike
the capital cities of countries like the United States, Mexico, and Australia,
there is no federal capital district in Canada: Ottawa is a municipality
within the Province of Ontario. Although it does not constitute a separate
administrative
district, Ottawa is part of the officially-designated National Capital Region.
The geographie

About its geography location, Ottawa is situated on the south bank of
the Ottawa River, and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal.
The oldest part of the city (including what remains of Bytown) is known as
Lower Town and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the
canal to the west lies Centretown (often just called "downtown"),
which is the city's financial and commercial hub. Between here and the Ottawa
River, the slight elevation of Parliament Hill is home to many of the capital's
landmark government buildings, and is the Legislative seat of Canada.
Its weather has a range of temperatures from a record high of 37.8°C (100°F)
in the summers of 1986 and 2001 to a record low of -36.1°C (-33°F)
being recorded in the winter of 1943, making it the second coldest capital
city in the world (after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia). This extreme range in temperature,
allows Ottawa to boast a variety of annual activities and the requirement of
a wide range of clothing.

The architecture

Some of the notable buildings in Ottawa include the Parliament Buildings,
where Canada's government resides; 24 Sussex Drive, the home of the Prime
Minister of Canada; and Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor-General
of Canada. Ottawa also has most of Canada's national museums, including
the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian War Museum, Canada Science and
Technology Museum, Canada Aviation Museum and Canadian Museum of Nature.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is located across the Ottawa River
in Gatineau, Quebec. Ottawa is also the home of the University of Ottawa,
Carleton University, Algonquin College, and La Cité Collégiale.
Federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by the Public
Works Canada, while most of the federal lands in the Region are managed
by the National Capital Commission or NCC; its control of much undeveloped
land gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development.